Canada must ask tough questions

The Canadian government is facing calls from the political opposition, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and others to assume a leadership role in a United Nations peacekeeping mission that’s been proposed by the Ukrainian government. Canada could ably contribute to such a mission, and peace in Ukraine is certainly an objective worth pursing. But our soldiers should not start packing their bags just yet. We owe it to ourselves to first consider a number of big questions.

Ukraine has been locked in a de facto war with Russia since 2014, when Russian military forces masquerading as local rebels seized the Ukrainian province of Crimea. Since that time, Ukrainian forces have been battling Russian-backed militias and units of Russian-but-not-officially-Russian “little green men” all along the UkrainianRussian frontier. The conflict has been bloody; collateral damage to civilians has been common.

Canada and some of its allies, including the United States and United Kingdom, have supported Ukraine by offering military training, non-lethal supplies and strategic intelligence. These efforts have helped Ukraine resist Russia more effectively than it otherwise could have. Some Western analysts now believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin — having successfully destabilized his Western-leaning neighbour and wearying of continuing losses — may be open to ending the conflict.

To that end, U.S. and Russian diplomats will be meeting later this month to discuss the possibility of sending 20,000 peacekeepers into eastern Ukraine. Official Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer has already said the Conservatives would advocate for and support such a mission in government, and there may well be reasons for the Liberals to do so as well. But a number of considerations must first be addressed.

The first is obvious: as a UN mission, all UN Security Council members must consent to it. Russia is one such member. Whether Moscow is genuinely interested in ending its meddling in Ukraine remains to be seen. If Russia does veto the proposed peacekeeping mission, what steps are Canada and our Western allies prepared to take then?

Second, even if a mission could be authorized on terms acceptable to everyone, it’s worth bearing in mind that the Russians have played dirty throughout this entire conflict. It has used proxies to conduct deadly military missions, and it has shown a wanton disregard for state sovereignty, rules of war, and responsible military conduct. If Canada did field troops for a mission, they would need to be trained, armed, equipped, and — critically — authorized to defend themselves and civilians from attack. Are the public and our troops prepared for that?

Finally, would this mission be the best use of our resources? The world’s major powers are already invested in Ukraine. Any mission would presumably be well-resourced. Would it make more sense for Canada to focus our capabilities on a part of the world that is underserved and in desperate need of resources and attention? The grievous conflict in Myanmar, for instance, comes to mind.

On Nov. 11 in particular, it’s worth remembering what a weighty responsibility it is to send our soldiers into any foreign lands. Such decisions must always be made with the utmost care.